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Construction
Construction is one of the many Unit Abilities available in Master of Magic. This ability is unique to Engineers (of any Race that possesses them). It indicates that these units can add new Roads on any land tile. Roads enable both and units to enter the tile at a cost of only 0.5 Movement Points. Roads built on Myrror are called Enchanted Roads, and enable any unit to enter the tile at no cost at all. Whenever a unit with Construction is standing on top of a valid tile (see below) on the overland map, the orders menu displays a button labeled "Build". When this button is pressed, the unit begins the process of laying a new Road on the same tile. This will take several turns to complete, and can be sped up by simultaneously having several units build a road on the same tile. There are 6 types of Engineers in the game, each belonging to a different Race. Some races have no access to Engineers, requiring them to either forgo Construction of new Roads, or acquire Engineers from other sources. There is no way to add the Construction ability to any other unit. Description An empire's infrastructure depends not only on its Towns, but also on the connectivity between these Towns and other strategic assets within the empire's territory. In order to facilitate fast movement of units across the empire, it is necessary to construct Roads connecting all major locations. The process of Road construction can take many turns, especially in a large empire. It is, nonetheless, imperative - and can improve both defensive and offensive capabilities. Effect In order to use its Construction ability, a unit must move to an overland tile that is valid for the construction of a new Road. Roads can be built on any land tile (i.e. not on Shore or Ocean tiles). Naturally, the Construction unit must be able to reach the tile in order to build a Road there. Once the unit is on top of a valid tile, the unit's orders menu will display a button labeled "Build". The "Build" button is greyed-out while the unit is not on top of a land tile. Note that it is possible to issue the "Build" order even if the tile already contains a Road - however this is wasteful, as it does not improve the existing Road in any way. Also note that this button also appears for units possessing the Create Outpost ability, but serves a different purpose for such units. Once this button is pressed, the game goes into "Construction Mode". A panel on the right side of the screen will let you know how long this construction project will take (in turns). It is also possible to tell the Construction unit to build a continuous road towards a given destination (more on this below). Once Construction is confirmed, the selected unit will begin building the Road. While working, the unit is marked with the letter "B" on its unit icon, and cannot perform any action without canceling the project. If the project is ended prematurely (by clicking the unit icon while it is selected), any future attempts to build the road in this tile will have to start from scratch. Upon completion of the project, a new Road will appear in the tile. It is automatically connected to any adjacent Road tile (though the connection itself is not important). From this moment on, any and units entering this tile will pay exactly 0.5 Movement Points to do so, regardless of the tile's Terrain. If the Road was constructed on the plane of Myrror, it is automatically converted into an Enchanted Road (see below). Continuous Build Order While the game is in "Construction Mode" (after clicking the "Build" button but before confirming the order), it is possible to give the selected unit(s) the order to build a long Road stretching between two given tiles. The Engineers will then proceed from one tile to the next automatically, building a Road in each tile they enter. To do this, while in "Construction Mode", click on any tile on the map which is reachable from the Engineers' current location. The game will show a visible line stretching from the current tile to the destination tile. This is the path that the Engineers will take, and they will place a Road inside each of these tiles. Note that the panel on the right side of the screen reports the total number of turns required to construct all of these Road tiles. However, it does not take into account the Movement Allowance of the selected Engineers, nor the time it'll take them to move from tile to tile. Therefore, expect the project to take longer than the stated amount. You can stop a continuous build order just like any order. Remember again that any partial work done on any single road section is abandoned at any time when no Engineers are working at it - requiring the project to be restarted from scratch if you wish to resume construction there at a later time. Construction Times Construction of a Road requires several turns to complete. While this is going on, the Construction unit cannot perform any other action. It is possible to cancel Construction before it's done, but this wastes any effort and time already invested. Arcanus and Myrror's diverse topography will place variable demands upon your Engineers as they connect roads across your territory. The time to complete one section of Road normally depends on the Terrain type of the tile in question, and the number of units simultaneously performing Construction there. Below is a table detailing the number of turns it takes to construct a road section based on the above factors: The base formula for calculating the number of required turns is simple: Take the number of turns to build a road in the tile with just one unit of Engineers (first column in the table above), divide by the number of Engineers working simultaneously, and round down. Note that the result can never be less than 1. In order to ensure that all Engineers are working in unison, it's important to give them all the "Build" order simultaneously. Ensure that all Engineers are selected and available when clicking the "Build" button. The panel on the right side of the screen will report the final number of turns required for construction, taking all Engineers present in the tile into account. This includes Engineers that have ended their turn on that tile, are on patrol there, or are en route to another destination per orders. Be aware that any units which activate, awaiting your orders, while sharing their map tile with a unit engaged in ongoing Construction are at risk of grouping the Engineers and canceling the project if you misclick. If such units are, themselves, Engineers, they did not expedite construction that turn. Dwarf Engineers :The Dwarves have a racial advantage that allows them to construct roads at twice the normal rate. This allows Dwarf Engineers to quickly form a network of Roads across their entire empire. :To calculate the number of turns it'll take Dwarf Engineers to complete a single road, check the table above and divide the result by 2, then round down. Again, the final result can never be less than 1. Using Magic to Improve Road Construction :Unit Enchantments improving normal units' mobility have mixed effects on Engineers. :In addition to its advertised effect of allowing the target 1 extra , the sense of holy purpose imparted by an Endurance Spell doubles the power of the Construction ability itself. A project that would normally take a unit of Engineers 5 turns to complete will only require 2 turns. Dwarf Engineers with Endurance see their Construction ability increased by 50% overall; that is, they become the functional equivalent of 3 normal units of Engineers. :Other Enchantments, such as Path Finding, Flight, Chaos Channels, and Wraith Form, may enable a unit or stack of Engineers to enter any map tile and begin work immediately— if used appropriately. These units need to be guided by hand. Automated continuous build orders do not capitalize on enchantments. On the turn an Engineer makes an automated move in route construction, it is assumed to have spent all its moves, and does not in actual fact contribute that turn to road construction. It resumes work on the following turn. Engineers with moves left over by these enchantments should be re-activated by hand and instructed to build, or simply avoid continuous build orders altogether, if these unit enchantments are to have any effect. Overview :A team of 5 Engineers, or 3 such units of Dwarven stock, will be able to fully construct a road on any sort of terrain in 1 turn. Stacks of Engineers are an expensive proposition in terms of , , , and time itself. These opportunity costs, and the dominant terrain along a route, are well worth considering in determining how many Engineers to deploy. :Owing to Engineers' allowance, either magic or Draconian Engineers are required to reach a point where a team can complete one road square each and every turn. For instance, 5 High Men Engineers and 1 Path Finding Spell will do the trick. Do not assign continuous build orders to enchanted Engineers. :Generally, avoid casting high-ticket enchantments on Engineers unless you can spare the casting time, intend to micro-manage their orders, and need the roads built at top speed. By contrast, Endurance and Path Finding tend to be well-worth their cost. Enchanted Roads : When constructing Roads on the plane of Myrror, each completed road is automatically turned into an Enchanted Road. An Enchanted Road is decidedly superior: any unit (except Non-Corporeal units) entering this tile does not need to pay any Movement Points to do so. Therefore, a unit can travel from one Enchanted Road tile to the next at no cost, and can potentially travel a vast distance this way. An empire that has diligently constructed roads between each and every Town can thus move units across its entire territory within a single turn. Note that it is also possible to enchant roads on the plane of Arcanus, using the Enchant Road spell. Units with Default Construction The Construction ability is entirely unique to the 6 Engineers units available in the game. Each belongs to (and can only be created by) a single Race, and they have some differences in their attributes - but are all mainly used for Construction. Beastmen Engineers Draconian Engineers * Dwarf Engineers High Men Engineers Klackon Engineers Orc Engineers Remember that Dwarf Engineers possess an advantage over all others, as it takes them 50% as long to construct a road on any tile (to a minimum of 1 turn per tile). Draconian Engineers possess a different advantage, since their fast ability allows them to move from one tile to the next very quickly, allowing Road construction to take less time overall. * Draconian Engineers are not available in version 1.31. Acquiring Construction Engineers are the only units in the game that possess the Construction ability. It is not possible for any other unit to acquire this ability in any way, neither through spells nor through Magical Items. This is what makes Engineers so valuable, despite a general lack of combat abilities. Category:Abilities